Trinity Catholic High School A.P. U.S.

History
Teacher: Mr. Bill Hartley: bhartley@tchs.us

Welcome to the Advanced Placement United States History class at Trinity

Catholic High School. The 2021-2022 school year will be busy as we prepare you to
take the A. P. United States History Exam which is usually scheduled for the second
week in May (either Thursday or Friday). APUSH is a challenging course that is
designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course in a high school setting.

The objective of the class is to increase your understanding of U.S, History and
equip you with the skills to hopefully pass the A.P. Exam. The focus will be on the
social, political and economic history of the United States from Exploration and
Colonization to the Cold War, as these are the areas of focus on the A.P. exam.
Solid reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to devote time outside of
class to study and memorization are necessary to be successful in passing the exam.
Along the way we will still take time to see the “story” in U.S. History.
The textbook for the class is Brinkley’s American History; there will be a
hardcopy signed out to you when we gather in August. I am attaching the link to the
student resources for the text which you will need for study/test purposes:

http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/0076621367/information_center_view0/

You will need to spend time this summer doing the following:
1). Bookmark on your device the A.P. course homepage for U.S. History:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/225908.ht
ml

Take time to get familiar with this site. There is much valuable information here.
You can find sample questions for each of the four parts of the APUSH test:
multiple choice, short answer, long answer, and the document-based question.

2). Download the AP U.S. History Course Description Guide:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-us-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
This is the official publication of A.P. Central. NOTHING will appear on the exam
that is not laid out in the course outline here. Early in the Fall there is the possibility
of AP Central putting out a revised version of the guide, so watch for emails or
updates. Spend time reading through this before we meet, highlighting anything you
want to ask questions about when we gather as a class in August.

3). Buy the following two prep books:

A). United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination
(4th Edition) by John J. Newman and John M. Schmalbach, AMSCO Publishing.

ISBN-13: 978-1531129125. (We will refer to it simply as, “Amsco.”)

Past APUSH students may give you their edition of the book with highlights and
markings which is fine, but you MUST get the 2020 edition, as it conforms to the
latest modifications the College Board has made to the exam. New copies of this
book can be ordered at:
https://www.amscopub.com/catalog/category/view/s/amsco-sup-r-sup-br-advanced-placement-sup-r-sup-br-
united-nbsp-states-nbsp-history-4th-edition/id/2989/.

It may also be purchased at Amazon. This, along with the Course Description
Guide, will serve you very well and will eliminate the need to buy other prep books.
This book contains a thorough overview of the main themes in American History, as
well as practice questions in the new test format adopted in 2015 by AP Central.

B). AP U.S. History Crash Course Book, Larry Krieger (5th edition (ISBN-13: 978-
07386126902015).
This is THE publication that students consistently site as most helpful in “prepping”
for the exam. It is a brief yet thorough review of the material that consistently
appears on the exam. As with Amsco, students may give you their book, which is
fine, but the latest edition is the most update to date version.
4). Complete the assignment laid out in the instructions below, which will
be graded:

2021 AP U.S. History Summer Reading & Writing Assignments

If your Amsco book does arrive by early July, I am attaching a link to my Google
Drive folder for APUSH where you can access the 2016 edition online (if you have
not acquired a copy from a past student), which will sustain you for the summer
assignment:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fbZ1czt2uicghmnShmiVfUxPQCBc8iEB

If you still are having difficulty, email me and I will send you the direct link to the
book.
Assignments 1 and 2 are described below and both due the first day of class. You
will have a test over the material once we’ve covered it in lecture/discussion:
Assignment #1: Carefully read Chapters 1-3 (pages 1-62) in AMSCO, then answer
the following:
-the multiple-choice questions on pages 15-18, 40-42, 57-59
(write the question and the answer; you don’t have to copy the document or chart)
-the short answer questions (3 & 4 on page 20), (1-3 on page 43), (1-3 pp. 60-61)
-Thinking as an Historian Questions on pages: 20, 44, 62
YOU MUST HANDWRITE ALL WORK
Assignment #2: Reading and analyzing primary and secondary source documents:
Step 1: Read pages 21-22 in AMSCO. Period 1 Review: Analyzing Evidence.
Step 2: Read the 7 documents on pages 64-67, then write two sentences for each
document. The first sentence must summarize the content and the second must be
an analysis sentence. This means you explain one of the following: Historical
Content, Author’s Point of View, Author’s Purpose, or Intended Audience. On pp.
21-22 in AMSCO you will find a detailed explanation of each type of analysis.
Assignment #3: Completing graphic organizers:
Type in information for each of the two graphic organizers which can be found in
the Drive folder and you should be able to access them with the links below:
1). Native American Cultures at Time of Exploration & Colonization

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fbZ1czt2uicghmnShmiVfUxPQCBc8iEB

2). Comparison Chart of Colonial Regions

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fbZ1czt2uicghmnShmiVfUxPQCBc8iEB
If you have any problems accessing these graphic organizers, email me and I will
send them to you as an attachment. Simply fill in the boxes NEATLY!
All work is due the first day of class and will be graded, and each day it is late is a
letter grade reduction. I look forward to working with you this school year. If you
have any questions or concerns feel free to email me at bhartley@tchs.us or check in
with Mrs. Hartley in the President’s office, and she will pass along your questions or
messages.